Pressing-iron support



March 24, 1931. KoENK;

PRESSING IRON SUPPORT Filed Sept. 25. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet mans/W01?Harry A 0c/u 7 W/r/VESS H. A. KOENIG March 24, 1931.

PRESSING IRON SUPPORT Filed Sepi. 25, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedMar. 24, 1931 err ree 2 rREssrne-rnon surronr Application filedSeptember 25; 1928. Serial No. 308,147.

The present invention relates to pressing machines and more particularlyto "a universal control for the pressing iron of such a machine.

Some of the objectsof the present invention are to providc'an improvedmechanism for pressing cloth and other material in tailoringestablishments, clothing manufacturing and many other industrialplants;to pro- 'vide means for supportinga pressing iron position, for. moreeffective and efficient operation;'to provide means for automaticallyhandling-the weight of a pressing iron to relieve the operator from thelabor of controlling such weight; to provide a support fora pressingiron whereby the range of movement-of such iron is materiallyincreasedand variations of the ironing stroke can take place from a minimum to amaxiv mum; to provide an improvedmecha'nism for applyin a constantpressure to goods being pressed; to provide means for anch0ring apressing iron in one pressing position to carry out a pressing operationwhile allowing the operator the freedom of both hands to arrange thematerial being pressed; and to provide other improvements as willherei'nafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents a perspective of apressing machine embodying one form of the present invention; Fig. 2represents a'sectional side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 represents asectional'detail of a bearing head; Fig. a represents a section on linelilot Fig.3 ;"Fig. 5

represents asectional detail of the head support; and Fig. 6 representsa' detail in side elevation of a modified form of head locking 'means. vi Referrmg tothe drawings, one form of the present invention is shown asapplied to a steam pressing machine consisting, as generally con'slderedof aframe'l'O supporting a table or bed 11 and upon which is mounted abuck or pressing board 12. When the.

goods are placedupon thepressingboard 12 and suitably arranged for thepressing operation, a sad iron 13 isjbrought into pressing. contact withthermajterial and: since ity is heated in the usual manner of such ironsby a burner receiving its gas supply by way of a pipe 14 and a steamsupply by way of a pipe 15, the goods are .not only heated but receivethe required moistening effect to prevent scorching. A handle 16' isattached to the iron 13'for manipulating it and, as here shown, isdisposed at a' convenient operating angle toward'the operator. p v

For supporting the iron 1'3 so thatit has a movement not only universalin a horizontal plane but also so that it 'cianbe raised or loweredvertically, itis connected by a ball and socket joint l'Zto, a rod 18which is. sus pended from and rigidly attached to a hanger arm 20'which,in this instance, is of generally rectangular shape and arranged withits edge parallel to the table 11. The support for the arm 20 consists,in the present instance, of a head 21 providedat opposite endsrespectively with slots 22 which are vertically disposed to form guideopenings for-the arm 20 which traverses the slots 22 in vertical edgerelation. that is to say I the arm 20 for strengthening purposes has itssides in a vertical plane. In order that the arm 20 can move'relative tothe head 21 easily and with a minimum amount of friction, the lower.portion'of thehead 21 carries a track 23'wlii'ch supports a pluralityof. ball bearing rollers 23t0 serve as movable bearings upon which thearm 2O rides. The track 23 is preferably adjustable as shown by the setbolts25, in 7 order that the bearings can be maintained in contactwiththe arm 20, or compensate; for wean, The upper portion of the head 21 islikewiseprovided with a track member 26 having bearing rollers 27 heldin engagement with the upper edge of the arm 20 to thus not onlyresistany tendency of the arm to deflect upward but also to provide a freeeasy running bearing. Adjacent one of the slots .22 thereis a projectingbearing lug 28 located above the arm 20 and in position to contacttherewith, while atithe opposite end of the head there is a second lug30: projectingto engage the lower edge of the a'rm 20, these lugsforming abutments to resist any tendenjoy of the arm 20 todistort'vertically p e In order to prevent lateral play of the a'rm 20,angleplates 31 are adjustably'mounted in pairs at opposite ends of thehead 21, each pair being spaced to receive the arm 20 between them andfit snugly against tl e sides thereof without frictional engagement.

For the purpose of supporting the head 21 for swinging movement in ahorizontal plane, it is provided with a rigid bracket 32 project inglaterally therefrom and terminating in a hub m'e'inb r hich is fixedstud bolts 34 to a vertically disposed post 35. This post 35 forms theaxis of rotation for the arm 20 and head 21 and to that end has itsupper end journalled in a thrust bearing formed in a cap 36 and itslower end journalled on step bearing formed by a cap 37 fitting over aball race 38 which is held in interfitting relation by aspring 40, thelower end of which seatsin abase socket 41. The cap 36 is bolted to aboss 42 projecting from a main rock arm 43 to fit about the post 35while a set screw 130 is threaded through said cap in co-anial relationto the post and engages a plate 131 restingon a ball race 132. 7 On theupper end of the set screw is mounted the usual sponge cup 133, whichserves a means for adjust ing the setscrew. A wing nut 134 is adapted tolock the set screw inthedesired adjusted position. A second boss 44 alsopro ects from the rock arm 43 to fit about the lower portion of the post35, the two bosses 42 and 44 serving to transmit motion of the arm 43 tothe post 35 while allowing the latter to have free rotary motion. 6 Thearm 43 serves as a relatively large bell-crank pivoted at 45 to thetable frame, the head operating end of which extends substantiallyvertically at the rear of the machine and its other end passingsubstantially horizontally under the table 11. The purpose of thevertical ustment of the post 35 is to permit the iron 13to be adjustedto'eflective pressing position when the usual padding on the board 12becomes compacted during use. This takeup permits at all times eiiectivepressing action without any lost motion.

For actuating the bell-crank 43, its horizon;

tally arranged end is connected by links 46 which straddle a rock lever47 and are connected thereto by a pin 43 located lntermediate thefulcrum 50 of thelever 47 and its pivoted connection 51 with anactuating rod 52. This last joins atreadle 53 pivoted to a bracket 54depending from bracing frame 55 of the frame 10. Pivoted to the treadle53 is a weighted latch 56 arranged to fall just beneath the front edgeof the bracing trame 55 when the treadle is depressed in order to lockthehead and sad iron in their pressing position. A dog 57 ispivoted tothe latch 56, and in one position is ineffective, in so far as, thelatch '56 is concerned, but when manually turned in another position,one end swings between the latch 56 and the treadle 53 and prevents theformer from falling to latching position. A foot piece 59 is pivoted 7look sothat the toggle is broken. the toggle structure to maintain theposition locking the: treadle. 53 down, the upper end .boss 58 and thejuxtaposed head 61 is a coil spring 62 arranged under compression, andthe construction is such that release of the treadle 53 allows the tworelatively heavy springs 62 to rock the bell crank 43 in the oppositedirection to release the iron pressure. In operation the goods to bepressed are placed upon the buck 12 and the iron 13 is grasped by thehandle 16 and brought to the desired position above' the goods. Thismovement is merely a swinging one because the iron is normally supportedabove the plane of the goods by the arm 20 and the rock arm- 43 underthe influence of the weight balancing springs 62. Since the radius ofthe arm 20 is variable, due to its sliding connection with the head 21,it will be apparent that the iron can not only be moved about the,

post 35 as an axis but can also'travel in a straight line longitudinallyof the buck 12. ith the iron brought to position the treadle 53 is act.ated to press the iron downward upon the goods when it can beautomatically.

held by the latch 56 dropping under the front bar of the frame 55. Whenthe iron is so locked exerting pressing pressure upon the goods, theoperators hands are free to manipulate and arrange the goods forpressing other portions thereof. By actuating the foot piece 59 thelatch 56 is released to permit the iron to be lifted and moved to a newpressing position.

V In the formof the invention of Fig.6, a toggle locking control for thetreadle 53-is shown comprising a pair of levers 63 of like size andshape pivoted respectively on opposite ends of fulcrum pin 50' andhaving one pivotal connection at 64 with a lug 65 prolinks 68 which inturn are pivoted on a pin 7 O passing through a bearing ear 71. Pedalmembers 72 project from opposite sides of the lever in orderto kickoutand release the To assist of one of the levers 63 is provided with a lug73 to which a spring 74 isattached and is stretched to a fixed part ofthe machine. WVhere it is desired to maintain the toggle broken so thatthe head 21 is not mechanically held down, the end of the spring 74 istransferred to a pin 75 on the opposite side of the fulcrum 50 and henceits tension acts to hold the levers 63 and 66 in open position with thetreadle 53 free for manual operation. lVith the spring 74: on the pin 73, the toggle levers 63 and 66 are thrown to locking po sition wheneverthe treadle 53 is pressed down and hence the iron 13 can be freely ma- Inipulated by the operator without maintainmg foot pressure upon thetreadle. Being thus relieved of physically holding the treadle, theoperator is unhampered in handling the iron and arranging the materialbeing pressed. At any moment the toggle lock can be released by a kickupon the member 72.'

It will now be apparent that a complete unitary pressing mechanism hasbeen devised whereby a pressing iron is supported in a manner to relievethe operator of its weight and does not have to be manually lifted inorder to reach its pressing position. Also the rangeof movement of theiron is mate rially increased over anything heretofore de-- vised andwith the increased range comes a variable radius of movement whichprovides universal action in a horizontal plane.

lVhile only a single form is shown in which this invention may beembodied, it is to be understood that the invention isnot limited to anyspecific construction, but might be applied to various forms withoutdeparting from the siprit of the'invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: r V

1. A pressing iron mechanism comprising a table, a pressing boardmounted on said table, a rockarm pivoted to said table to swing in avertical plane, a post journalled on said arm in a substantiallyvertical position and arranged to move axially relative to said arm,axially yielding bearing means for supporting the lower end of saidpost, a head fixed to said post having front and rear aligned slots, aniron supporting arm'slidable through said slots, continuous rollertrackways in said head for engaging opposite sides of said supportingarm, means for adjusting said trackways to take up wear, a pressing ironpivotally suspended from the free end of said support a cap for theupper end of said post rigidly post support engaging the lower endthereof, a cap for the upper end of said post rigidly mounted on theupper boss, means carried by the cap for longitudinally adjusting thepost, anti-friction means interposed between.

the post ends and the cap andyieldable bottom support respectively, ahead fixed to said post, an arm slidably mounted through said hefgd, andan iron carried by said arm.

o gned at Philadelphia, in thecounty of Philadelphia, State ofPennsylvania, this 24th day'of Sept, 1928.

, I HARRY A. KOENIG.

ing arm,and means for operating said rock arm.

2. A pressing iron mechanism comprising a table, a pressing-boardmounted 011 said table, a rock arm pivoted adjacent one edge of saidtable and swingable in a plane intersecting the table and board, spacedbosses on the portion of the arm above the table, a Vertical postslidably and rotatably mounted therethrough, an axially yieldableflexible post supportengaging the-lower end thereof,

